To the military spouses flying solo this holiday season.

Posted on Dec 23, 2018 by R. Riveter

by R.Riveter Co-Founder, Lisa Bradley

"I watched Toyota's new "Home for the Holidays" commercial recently with mixed emotions.

The beautiful 100-second video follows an excited young boy preparing for his military dad's homecoming. The spot ends with father and son running into each other's arms in a snow-covered winter wonderland and the line: "Let's bring everyone closer this holiday."

This commercial, and many other ones like it that run throughout the holiday season, are deeply moving. Heartwarming feelings of gratitude might cause us to shed a tear (or several), and even share the story with family and friends. This is how we like to picture service members and families during the holidays - reunited at last!

However, there's one group of people I know who might shed a tear watching this same spot for a different reason. For those with spouses deployed this holiday season, there won't be a last-second homecoming, a happy reunion in the snow. Maybe you are one of them. Your service member is far away, dutifully doing a job that needs to be done."